SJE welcomes Laura Kerlagon as national sales manager, North America
Detroit Lakes, Minnesota-based SJE announced that Laura Kerlagon has joined the company to serve as its national sales manager — North America (United States and Canada) for the control and level-sensing technology division. She brings over 13 years of commercial and distribution channel sales experience at Bigwall Enterprises, Electrolux, General Insulation and Whirlpool. Her most recent experience as key account sales manager at Whirlpool connected her with the plumbing industry, where she worked with a variety of customers including retailers, distributors and designers. In her role, she helped identify new business opportunities, developed actionable plans for success and mentored new sales talent.
NASTT appoints Kim Hanson as new executive director
Following a comprehensive and independent search process, the North American Society for Trenchless Technology announced the appointment of Kim Hanson as its next executive director. Hanson has served on the NASTT board of directors for more than three years, including as secretary, and was recognized as NASTT’s 2024 Volunteer of the Year. She has also contributed to both the technical program committee and planning committee over multiple years. Her long-standing volunteer service not only reflects a strong understanding of NASTT’s mission, culture and strategic priorities, but also demonstrates her dedication and enthusiasm for its members and those they serve.
BRAWOLINER lining system passes infiltration test in the UK
In an extensive test setup conducted by the Water Research Center in Swindon, England, the BRAWOLINER system passed the CP655 test in classifications 1 and 2 with flying colors. In an extreme test simulating high groundwater pressure, the cured liner proved completely leakproof against external water pressure. Even flowing water during installation had no negative effect on insertion, curing or the water resistance of the cured liner. The external water pressure of 0.5 bar was maintained for 30 minutes and during this period, no infiltration occurred. The liner-resin matrix was also completely leakproof.
NUCA names David Howell as new board chairman, elects officers
The National Utility Contractors Association’s board of directors formally inducted David Howell as its new chairman in February at its annual meeting held in Tucson, Arizona. Howell served as NUCA’s vice chairman and has served over the last few years as both treasurer and secretary. He has also represented multiple NUCA Chapters on the association’s executive committee, including the chapters in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Howell is the vice president of business development for Midwest Mole. He has been with the Midwest Mole family of companies for over 20 years, beginning his career working on trenchless tech projects across the country. During his time with the company, he has also held a variety of roles including field engineer, project manager, safety director and railroad division manager.
Also elected to the leadership team at the annual meeting were Jason Clark as vice chair, Kirk Blomgren as treasurer and Victor Serrambana as secretary. Kevin Cripps, the former chairman, now becomes immediate past chairman. The association also elected several new vice chairs to its top leadership team. Tony Raposo (northeast region vice chair), Mike McShane (midwest region vice chair), Luke Lopez (west region vice chair), Shawn Martin (central region vice chair) and Jason Holden (at-large) were also elected to the NUCA executive committee.
Supervac sets down roots in Ontario
Supervac has established its first physical service presence in Ontario through a partnership designating NEWCO as the province’s Supervac Certified Service Centre. The Port Perry facility will provide Ontario-based Supervac customers local access to factory-backed technical support, parts inventory, warranty administration and certified service capabilities.
